TWO American companies have lost multi-million dollar contracts in China, but Beijing insisted yesterday it was for commercial reasons, not because of the Sino-US row over Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui's visit to the US last month.
Daimler-Benz issued a statement yesterday saying it had reached an agreement in principle with Guangdong's Nanfang Motor Corp to build a US$1 billion (HK$7.73 billion) plant.
The factory will produce an estimated 60,000 vehicles and 100,000 engines a year, with 20 per cent of the output earmarked for export.
The agreement, which effectively shuts out US giant Chrysler, was expected to be signed late yesterday during President Jiang Zemin's visit to the Daimler-Benz factory in Stuttgart.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang also confirmed that another US firm, Texas-based Greiner International, had lost out to a European competitor on a US$35 million deal to provide equipment and engineering services for a new airport in Nanjing.
Mr Shen said the two multinationals had not been penalised over the Lee visit, but in New York, Shanghai Vice-Mayor Zhao Qizheng claimed strained Sino-US relations were responsible for the 'poor performance' of US businesses in China.
